Air-suction regulator



H. H. MEYER.

AIR SUCTION REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28. 1919.

Patented June 29, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I I [Q r y I W I TNESS' INVEN TOR.

4 I AFJYE: 'Q W 2 i H. H. MEYER.

AIR SUCTION REGULATOR.

APPLICATION ,FILED FEB. 28. 1.919.

1,344,92 1 Patented June 29, 1920.

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.WITIYESS: i Mala ATTORNEYS.

' UNITED STATES'FZPATENT OFFICE.

HENR HERMAN MEYER, OF-BED iwm qmrrmEsorn,

AIR-SUCTION REGULATOR.

- Application filed February 28, 1919. Serial No. 279,849.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it' known that I HENRY H. MEYER, a citizen of the United tates,residing at Red WVin in the county of Goodhue and State of innesota,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-SuctionRegulators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to a regulator or controller forregulating the air suc tion or sub-atmospheric pressure in a. grainseparator or other contrivance, and aims to provide a novel and improveddevice of that character operable to automatically maintain a desiredair suction or sub-atmospheric pressure, in order that the separation orother operation being performed will be uniform even though the speed ofthe air suction fan may vary or other conditions tend to disturb the airsuction, so that the present invention results in a steady air suctionunder all'conditions whereby the separation will be uniform.

A further object is the provision in a casing, from which air is'drawnby an air suction fan, of air inlet means for relieving the suction inthe casing, and novelmeans for automatically controlling the air fromthe atmosphere through said air inlet means, whereby the inlet of air iscontrolled according to the suction, to provide for a constantsub-atmospheric pressure in the casing.

It is also the object of the invention to provide a device of the natureindicated which is simple, compact and inexpensive in construction, andwhich can be readily installed on various grain separators and the like.7

With the foregoing and other objects in view aswill be apparent as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the construction andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, it beingunderstood that changes can be made within the scope of what isclaimedwithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a side elevation of a separator, showing the improvementsapplied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

The regulator-is illustrated as being apa 'casinglghaving'a lowerinclined screen 2 over which the grain passes, so that the air suct onwill draw air upwardly throu 11 said screen for carrying with it the chadust and lighter particles, as well known. Built in the casing 1 is anair suction fan comprisng a hous1ng 3 having thecentral side airinlets'd' located within the casing 1, a fan 5 rotating within thecasingfor drawing air through the openings 4 from within the casing,and'discharging the air, dust, and other ings, and to swing downwardlyfor the purpose of admitting air from above to the op posite sides ofthe housing 3 and air inlet openings 4 thereof. The valves 8 haveupstanding segments 9 which serve as weights for swinging the doors opendownwardly.

In order to control the valves 8 so that they will automatically openand close as the air suction increases and decreases, respectlvely,there is provided a lever 10, which, as shown, is of U-shape to extendpartially around the housing 3. The lever 10 is fulcrumed, as at 11,onllthe casing 1, and the terminals of the lever are connected by straps12 to the valves 8 to bear against the curved surfaces of the segments9, so that the rocking movement of the lever will raise and lower saidvalves for controlling the inflow of air. The cross piece or yoke of thelever is provided with an upstanding pin 13 for receiving aperturedweights 14 to counterbalance the valves 8. The weights 14 thus tend toraise the valves 8 and close them with the desired tension or pressureagainst the air suction from within the casing.

In operation, a sufiicient number of weights 14 are used to regulate theair suction as desired, so that the sub-atmospheric pressure in thecasing 1 will remain steady, even though the fan 5 should rotate fasteror slower at times. Thus, if there is an increase of the air suction,due to the speeding Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 29,

phed to a grain separator, which comprises offsetting the increase ofair suction, in order that the suction through the screen 2 will remainthe same. The valves 8 are normally slightly open, so as to admit airthrough the openings 7 during the normal speed of the fan, the airsuction swinging said valves 8 downwardlyv'for the purpose, and it willtherefore beobvious, that should the fan 5 slow down the air suctionagainst the valves 8 will be relieved accordingly, thus permit ting theweights lt to swing' said valves closed. This will shut ofi the flow ofair through the openings 7, and'thereby increase the suctionvthrough thescreen 2, which if this did not occur, would be reduced. In

this way, as the suction is increased and re-- duced within the casing1, the valves 8 swing open and close accordingly, and thus uniformlymaintain the desired suction through the screen 2 even though there arevarying degrees of suction created by the fan. By having the fan housing3 built within the casing l, advantage is taken of the opposite airinlets 4 of the fan housing, whereby air is drawn from within the casing1 through the opposite sides of the fan housing, thus providing for agreater flow ofair, and' a more uniform flow through the screen 2. Inthe use of the fan housing as shown and described, the air inletopenings 7 and valves 8 at opposite sides of the housing 3 areimportant, whereby to admit air to both inlets 4, for otherwise therewould be a va riation in the flow of air at the opposite sides of thefan. Furthermore, with this arrangement, the openings 7 can be as closeas possible to the openings 4 of the fan housing, and with the use oftwovalves 8' at the opposite sides, such valves are each of smallersizethan if a single valve were used,

and the operation is made more efficient and" reliable with such valvesoperated simultaneously one with the other.

7 By adding more weight on the arm of the "lever '11, this will increasethe normal suc .tion through the screen, and by taking off some of theweights 14, this will decrease the suction so that same can be regulatedby simply providing the necessary weight on the free arm of the lever10.

Having thus described the invention,what is claimed as new is 1. Thecombination of a casing having a screen for the passage of air, meansconnected to the casing for sucking the air therefrom, said casinghaving air inlets at opposite sides of said means, valves for saidinlets arranged to open inwardly as the suction increases,a'U-shaped'lever extending partially around said means and fulcrumedbetween its terminals and intermediate por-' tion onthe casing atopposite sides of said means, the terminals of the lever being con- 3nected-to said valves, and means for swinginto the casing, a fan housingbuilt in the V r casing for sucking air therefrom, the casing having airinlet openings at opposite sides of the fan housing for relieving theair suction, of valves for said openings arranged to open inwardly asthe suction increases, and a U-shaped lever fulcrumed to the casing andextending partially around the fan housing, the terminals of said leverbein connected to the valves, and the lever having means at theyokeportion for receiving-weightsto regulatethe opening of the valves; 7

In testimony whereof -I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

v HENRY HERMAN MEYER. WVitnesses I V R. WV. PUTNAM, l

v I L. C. MEYER.

